Arts and Culture

World religions take various approaches to answer the question “Is There Life after Death?” Representatives from the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths will share their perspectives on the afterlife in a panel discussion at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19, in the Student Union Theater. The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life is sponsoring this event.

Speakers for the Oct. 19 discussion are:

UNC Charlotte’s Homecoming Committee has planned a number of activities for the week leading up to this year’s Charlotte 49ers football game at noon, Saturday, Oct. 24, against the Southern Mississippi Eagles in Richardson Stadium.

Homecoming highlights include the Homecoming Lights Parade, an appearance by comedian Kenan Thompson and a Day of Service to benefit the UNC Charlotte Food Pantry.

Joël Gallegos, assistant provost for international programs, and Christina Sanchez, associate director of international programs, will appear on the Oct. 15 edition of “The Live Wire,” Inside UNC Charlotte’s streaming webcast. Starting at 2 p.m., they will discuss UNC Charlotte’s 40th annual International Festival, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17.

How do Latinos and African Americans in Charlotte get along? They often live near each other and deal with similar issues, do they discuss them, or do the respective communities remain primarily to themselves?

The student art exhibition “Four Years of Anxiety” is on display through Saturday, Oct. 31, in the Student Union Art Gallery.

The exhibit features the work of UNC Charlotte seniors Joanna Zamora and Kaitlin Waddell, and it includes works they have completed during the course of their undergraduate careers. Each will graduate in December with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in illustration.

“Saturday Night Live” comedian Kenan Thompson will perform at 8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 19, in the Student Union, Room 340, for the 2015 Homecoming Comedy Show sponsored by Campus Activities Board.

The Southeastern United States is now the nation’s fastest-growing Latino region, with many historians calling this cultural shift the South’s biggest post-Civil Rights story. To better understand this powerful transformation, Charlotte Teachers Institute (CTI), in conjunction with the Levine Museum of the New South, will explore the impacts of Latinos on the New South through its Exploding Canons interdisciplinary speakers program. This event is scheduled for 5:15 to 9 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27, at the Levine Museum.

Issues related to the trans and gender nonconforming community are being discussed locally and nationally as well-known public figures have shared their transition process. As part of the conversation, this year’s UNC Charlotte OUTSpoken Speaker series is bringing to campus Ian Harvie, a transgender comedian who has appeared in the award-winning program “Transparent” shown on Amazon. His free, public talk will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the Cone University Center McKnight Hall.

Children’s Theatre of Charlotte’s (CTC) upcoming production of “Coraline” marks the start of a partnership with the UNC Charlotte Department of Theatre that presents new opportunities for students, both on the stage and behind the scenes. Eight UNC Charlotte theatre students – three actors and five design and production students – have joined the cast and crew for “Coraline,” which runs Oct. 16-31 in the Wells Fargo Playhouse at ImaginOn. The co-production presents the first in an initiative that is intended to bring the Theatre Department and CTC together on a continual basis.

The UNC Charlotte Department of Art and Art History presents work by acclaimed new-media artists Jennifer and Kevin McCoy. “Priests of the Temple 2015” opens in Rowe Galleries on Monday, Oct. 5, with a lecture by the artists at 4 p.m., followed by a reception from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibition continues through Friday, Oct. 30.